Before someone else does.
by altricial
Summary: Ron has a little mission on the night before Valentine's.


**Title:** Before someone else does.   
**By:** *.@nn@.* ((annabel@imneverwrong.com))   
**Rating:** G or SSF ((Sickeningly Sweet Fluff))   
**Pairing:** Ron/Hermione ((1000 points to Rupert and Emma for pure cuteness and stunning chemistry))   
**Summary:** The Boy With Flaming Hair remembered some words of wisdom by The Girl With Bushy Hair. 

**Disclaimer:** Everything and everyone in the Harry Potter world belongs to the invincible JKR whom, I suspect, is *this* close to taking over the world. ((Not that I would mind, of course))   
**Warning:** This ficlet was written in 10 minutes so kindly pardon the ridiculous fluff factor and misquotes from the books. This one goes out to all the Sidekickers at forums4fans.com. :) 

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It was the night before Valentine's. 

Well, actually it was 5 in the morning, and Ron Weasley was shockingly awake. It usually took a human bludger, namely Harry, to wake him up every _sodding_ morning, but today, today was different. 

Ron had a special mission, and even though the only thing he sincerely felt like doing at the moment was to dig a deeper hole into his bed and sleep through 16 weekends, he cruelly pried his eyelids apart, dragged himself out of bed and drapped on the Invisibility Cloak that he had borrowed from Harry for "stealing midnight snacks from the kitchen". 

A man's got to do what a man's got to do. 

Ron sneakily sneaked into the girl's dorm as sneakily as a sneaky person could. He crept towards Hermione's bed, where she was sleeping soundly with the occassional murmur of alarmingly accurate historical facts from the Goblins Revolution. 

Ron sniggered silently and fought the overwhelming urge to brush that offending strand of auburn curl that dared to stray across her porceline cheek. 

With the stealth of an overgrown toad, he slipped a portrait of a certain bushy-haired beauty into Hermione's overspilling bookbag and promptly bumped his head on her side table, waking the whole dorm up. 

"_Dammit!_" He swore and wrapped the Invisibility Cloak tighter around himself, not daring to breathe. 

Hermione's eyes shot open. 

Five years of friendship with Harry had taught her the disconcerting fact that being a light sleeper generally decreased one's chance of turning into a human kebab for Voldemort's _adorable_ little pet snake. 

"What was that noise?" Came Lavender's groggy voice, followed by muffled groans and snappy moans from the rest of the girls. Four pairs of blood-shot, sleep-induced eyes squinted around the brightening, and seemingly empty, bedroom, all ready to hammer the living daylights out of the intruder. 

In his haste to get the hell out of the dorm, Ron oh-_so_-gracefully snubbed his toe against the door. He swore again, under his breath, and positively fled towards his santuary, away from the wrath of four pissed off witches. 

Hermione wasn't known as the most observant, and cleverest, witch in Hogwarts for nothing. She distinctively heard a voice and she can recognise that _"dammit!"_ from _anywhere_. Then again, she was also known as the girl who kept Ron out of all the detentions that he so rightfully deserved. 

"It's ok, girls, go back to sleep. It was just Crookshanks." Hermione waited for them to shuffle back under their blankets before she squirmed out of her bed, with the sole intention of storming into the boy's dorm screaming _bloody_ murder at a certain flame-haired boy for interrupting her only moment of rest _("The exams are only 6 months away!")_. 

As she reached over for her wand on her side table, she noticed a baby blue envelope sticking out of her long-suffering book bag. With a frown, she picked it up. Her heart very nearly skipped a beat when she saw her name written on it, with little hearts around each of the alphabets. 

_~ "Why, have you circled all of Lockhart's lessons with little hearts on your timetable?" ~_

Shakily, she opened the envelope and retrived a parchment from within. A gasp escaped from her lips when she saw what was the best present she'll ever receive in her life. And she knew, that it was not because of _what_ it was, but _who_ it was from. 

Upon the parchment was a portrait of herself, in all her bushy-hair glory, surrounded by books and homework, dilligently writing away, with that familiar sparkle of determination shining in her eyes. Among the books, the artist had painstakingly added a thoughtful detail on a leaflet where the word "S.P.E.W" _ ("It's S.P.E.W, not spew!")_ was enchanted to blink like twinkling stars in the night. 

What took her breath away was the tiny note written below the portrait, 

**"It took me 4 years to realise you're a girl, but only one summer to realise that you're The girl for me.**

Happy Valentine's Day, Hermione.

P.S: _I'm_ telling you this before somebody else does." 

_~ "Next time ask me before somebody else does!" ~_

Unable to choke back the surge of emotions any longer, a single tear rolled down her cheek and ended upon her smiling lips. Hermione pinched herself, _hard_, to make sure she wasn't still dreaming and that she was still stuck in the reality where Ron and her were still playing the denial game, much to Harry's dismay. 

Nope, she wasn't dreaming, she decided painfully, as her arm bruised up. With the mother of all goofy grins on her face, she slid the drawing carefully back into the envelope and locked it inside her truck, where the Valentine's present she had chosen for Ron was hidden. 

She bounced back into bed, not caring how silly and girly she was acting, and snuggled contentedly under the invitingly cozy covers. And before she closed her eyes to welcome the sweet dreams she knew she'll be having, she whispered a little wish into the crack of dawn...

_"Happy Valentine's Day to you too, Ron."_

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Feedback always welcomed. Thanks for reading! :) 


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